History gives us several examples of when predictions were just plain wrong. For example, in 1977, Ken Olson, founder of Digital Equipment Corp., stated, “There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home?” Yet by 2009, 80% of all US households had at least one, if not many. Then there was Charlie Chaplin, who in 1916 famously called motion pictures a “fad.” Last but not least, in 2008, Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, predicted the iPhone would be a “flop.” As these cases have shown, smart people may see the facts but not the environmental factors that can shift the entire landscape, as we learned the hard way with COVID-19.
This was particularly true in 2020, a year that forever redefined “normal” and altered our world in ways we are only beginning to understand. When I look back at my own predictions last year, almost none of them played out as I thought, neither personally nor professionally. My hopes and goals went in a whole new direction due to the pandemic and the complete upending of the national healthcare agenda.
For 2021, job number one for the nation will be moving ahead with the largest mass vaccination program in our history, as well as improving our rapid testing capabilities and therapeutic treatments for COVID-19. This backdrop will permeate all of our decisions this year, and directional trends will largely be influenced by how quickly we make progress in these areas.
Speaking of directional trends, The one thing that 2020 confirmed to me as I traveled from home to home to provide urgent in-home care or even COVID testing and or treatments is that you can pretty much get anything you want when you want it. Why can’t quality health care be the same? On any given day, you can get meals delivered, get your dogs groomed, get 3-4 Amazon deliveries, heck, you can even get in-home spray tans. Medical House Calls is in business for one simple reason. It is time to change your expectations when it comes to your healthcare. Medical HouseCalls is not intended to take the place of your Primary care provider, but we do exist to bridge the gap or, at times, the great divide.
Yes, 2020 happened, and yes, it’s time to find our “New Normal.” We are Medical HouseCalls and we would love the opportunity to treat you moving forward if the need arises in the comfort and safety of your own home. Give us a call, and we will do the rest.
